The technology referred to as “Power Line Communications” or PLC enables exchange of information signals (for example, data) over a wired network. This network may include pre-existing wires that are able to convey d.c. or a.c. electrical energy, or else by electrical connections exclusively assigned to the PLC. It may be, for example, an electric-power distribution network already deployed over the territory in which the physical connections (namely the wires) provided for distribution of electric power can be used for transmitting modulated signals.
A PLC network may comprise a number of nodes that are able to exchange data with one another by sharing a communication circuit and its connections. On the other hand, the topology of the PLC network may not coincide altogether with that of the wired network that supports it (for example, an electric-power distribution network). Consequently, the signal of the PLC network can propagate over the network that supports it beyond the boundaries of the PLC network.
Various applications that can be envisaged for a PLC network may include provisioning of a PLC network on, for example, an electric-power distribution network that already supports another PLC network. The fact that the PLC signal is able to propagate over the entire wired network can provide a source of conflict or incompatibility between the various PLC networks, for example, because they do not share similar communication or management rules at the level of time management.